


Meet Me On The Battlefield

by DragonWyrd316



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Reunions, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-14 03:59:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16485521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonWyrd316/pseuds/DragonWyrd316
Summary: The five original Warriors of Light come to in a new Eorzea five years after the battle at Cartenneau, memories returned only after they are reunited with their original crystals of light.  They are joined by a sixth who was originally a Warrior of Light from the First - a star finding itself threatened by overwhelming light.  This is the story of their friendships, loves, and losses, as they journey together to save Eorzea from the Imperium and the Ascians.





	Meet Me On The Battlefield

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thank you for reading. I want to apologize in advance if there are any mistakes - I've been writing under a heavy dose of insomnia and an increasingly weird sleeping pattern. This is also my first foray into Final Fantasy so I'm not as comfortable with it as I am some of the other games I've played. However, as I played FFXIV, my characters came to life and begged to be written, so here we are.

_I remember the day it all started, memories coming fast and furious the moment I picked up the crystal that dropped from the voidsent near the Sultantree.  I remembered the gentle smile on Arbert’s face as he woke me with a soft kiss to my forehead and a tray filled with the warm scents of a freshly cooked breakfast for us to share in bed._

_“Good morning, Sahj.”  His voice was full of his usual good natured cheer.  “How are my two treasures doing this fine morn?” He had stopped setting up the breakfast trays for a moment to lay his hand over the not so insignificant swell of my belly, the light caress earning him a gentle nudge from the babe nestled within._

_“We had a fine rest,” I had replied, responding to his smile with one of my own.  “I think a trip to the market is due today, probably one of the last ones I can make before the little one is born.”_

_Nodding his agreement, Arbert fluffed up the pillows behind me and helped me sit up into a comfortable position, before settling the tray with my breakfast over my lap.  The bed dipped a bit beneath his weight as he took up his spot beside me and began to dig into his meal._

_“Well then, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll head down to the pier and do some fishing, hopefully reel in a nice catch to last us a while.”_

_“Sounds wonderful.  I’ll be sure to see what else I can pick up to go with tonight’s dinner,” I smiled in response, and began tucking into the wonderful breakfast he had cooked for the both of us._

* * *

_I had been gone longer to the market than I had planned, the once bright sky already turning to dusk as I walked home, a bit overburdened with the extent of my purchases.  I remember stopping to stare at the sky, worrying as it did not darken as it once had, even during the midnight hours. We had heard whispers and reports of how the light was out of balance, overpowering, causing issues to crops and weather patterns, among other things.  There were nights Arbert and I sat up discussing this newest threat to our home, worrying that our actions as the Chosen had been the catalyst, but this wasn’t something that could be fixed with his axe nor my cesti._

_We were bringing a child into this new uncertain future.  We prayed over and over to Hydaelyn, the Mother, to fix the balance, to save us, our home, but nothing seemed to change.  If anything, the light was getting worse. We had thought, after all we had done as her Chosen, as the Warriors of Light, that we may finally find some respite and a chance to finally relax and be happy.  How naive we were._

_“Well ain’t she a pretty one,” a gruff voice rang out, interrupting my thoughts.  How stupid I had been to lose myself in my thoughts and not pay attention to my surroundings.  Just because we had won the battle did not mean that things were perfect. If anything, some people were more desperate as their lands failed due to the encroaching light and sought other means of making coin._

_“Oy, look at ‘er,” one of the bandits said to his friends.  “Pretty and gots coin, lookin’ at ‘er haul. Whaddaya say, boys?” the man snickered, answered by a chorus of ayes and lecherous laughter.  Grabbing my bags tighter, I took off running, though the weight of the babe made speed and agility near impossible._

_A sharp tug on my hair and I found myself tossed onto the ground.  Hands ripped at my clothes, dug deep into my breasts and thighs. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many of them.  After they were done with their fun, the beating began. I suppose they didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught. Gods knows I tried to keep the babe safe, but I felt something snap and knew that my life, and theirs, was leaving my body._

_“Please, no, my baby,” I cried over and over, to the laughter of the men kicking my near lifeless form.  “Hydaelyn, save me, please. I can’t leave Arbert... just... yet,” I gasped with my last breath, before darkness colored my vision and the light was no more._

* * *

Twin faces looked down with worry at the blond miqo’te who’d come to, sobbing as if she’d lost everything she held dear.

“Sascha,” Thancred murmured to his twin.  “While I’d love to catch up on the last many years, would you mind seeing to your friend while I make sure Lady Lilira makes it back to Papashan safely?  Oh and do be a dear and check in with him before heading back to Ul’dah. I’m sure he’d like to give thanks to Lilira’s newest protectors.”

Not bothering to respond, Sascha walked over to where N’sahja sat, her knees hugged tight to her chest, and plopped down beside her.  Paying no mind to his brother and the lalafellin lass as they left, he pulled a knee to him, resting his cheek on it, and tilted his head to watch the woman beside him.

“Let me take a wild guess and say that the vision the Mothercrystal showed you wasn’t nearly as nice as the “hear… feel… think…” message I received?”

Swallowing a sob, Sahja wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and turned her gaze to the man she’d met on the ride to Ul’dah, where Hydaelyn had her wake to this new life.  “You could say that,” she sighed. “The vision just reminded me of losses I’ve suffered and faces I’ll never see again. Reasons to fight on and defeat the darkness, I guess.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, reaching out to give her a quick one armed hug.  “Not to rush you or anything, but we may want to get going. It’s getting dark and we don’t want to keep Papashan waiting.”

“You’re right.  Besides, you never know what might be lurking in the shadows.”  Her smile was a bit wobbly as she looked over at Sascha. Taking a deep breath, Sahja uncurled herself and stood, brushing the dirt off her backside and securing her cesti, before setting off.  Concern in his eyes, Sascha watched her trot off, wondering if she’d had memories hammering her as he’d had in regards to that fateful day at Cartenneau five years prior. Her face wasn’t among those of his friends and fellow adventurers he’d fought alongside of - the ones Momodi called the “Warriors of Light” - but that didn’t mean Hydaelyn hadn’t seen something in her and saved her that day as well.  Looking down at the crystal the Mother had regifted him, he clenched his fist tight around it. Shivering in memory at the ghostly feel of Louisioux’s powerful spell that had enveloped him and the others in the last moments before Dalamud’s fall, he murmured a soft thank you to his old friend. Shaking himself free of his musings, Sascha noticed the miqo’te had already disappeared. Laughing softly at himself, he broke into a jog to catch up to her.

_Meanwhile, on another star..._

Five of them sat around a table, enjoying a tankard and each other's company, though their eyes kept darting towards the door.

"Shouldn't she have been back by now?" Blanhaerz asked, his gaze moving from the door to Arbert, who sat fidgeting in his seat.

"She's gotten quite domestic since she became pregnant.  I bet she bought out the whole market and that's what's keeping her," piped up another voice.

"You may have a point, J'rhoomale," the small lalafel Lamimi pondered, scratching her chin.  "She might have overdone it shopping and it's taking her a bit longer, trying to carry all those bags on top of that baby bulge.  If I didn't know any better, I'd think she was about to give birth to a full grown lalafel," she joked, earning soft laughter from some of the others.

Naillebert stared out the window, his fingers twitching as if he were trying to keep himself from casting a spell.  "We need to go, check the route she would have used.  An ill wind blows and I would prefer to see our friend safely home before the storm arrives."

Arbert's hands trembled at his friend's words, which he hid by clenching his fists.  Standing, he grabbed his axe, the others following suit.  "We search.  More than likely she stopped to talk to a friend at the market a bit too long, but better safe than sorry."

The party of five left the cottage, oddly subdued.  As they trekked the path N'sahja would have taken to and from the market, Lamimi spotted something further along the road.  Running ahead, she gasped, her tiny fists pummeling the tops of her thighs.  It didn't take a skilled healer such as herself to know that all life had left the body in front of her.

"Blanhaerz, your jacket!" she yelled out to the roegadyn, not wanting the others to come up on the figure in her undressed state.  The roe paladin jogged up beside her and let out a strangled gasp as he looked down, quickly divesting himself of his jacket and laying it over the prone form.  "Gods..." 

"Someone in trouble?" Arbert asked, coming up behind them, the bard and mage following suit.  Looking down at the woman laying amidst the dirt road, he paled and felt his vision waver.

"No.  Oh gods, please no," he choked out, dropping to his knees next to N'sahja's body.  His hand shaking, he reached out to check her pulse to find skin that had already long gone cold.  "Why?   _Why?!_ We did everything right!  We fought the primals, defeated the Ascians.  We deserved some happiness in return, didn't we?"

"I'm sorry," Blanhaerz, murmured, resting his hand on Arbert's shoulder, pointedly ignoring the tears dripping from his friend's face to soak into the ground beneath.  J'rhoomale could be heard choking back her hiccuping sobs, while the other two stared sadly at their friend's lifeless body.

"We shouldn't leave her here," Naillebert whispered. 

Spurred on by the mage's words, Arbert gently lifted his lover's body into his arms and stood, his eyes burning with a fire as he looked at his friends.  "We will give her the respect she deserves, and then we will continue our fight - for her and for the innocents struggling with this new threat.  We will find the source of this light and we will do whatever it takes to save our world.  Are you with me?"

Nodding, the others fell in step behind the warrior, their forms disappearing into the shadows, a dark portent of what was to come.

**Author's Note:**

> The title, and basically the characters' theme song, was inspired by the song Meet Me On The Battlefield by Svrcina. The lyrics really resonated with me, especially the chorus, in regards to who the WoL's become to each other along with their friends and lovers.
> 
> Between gaming and trying to find gainful employment, updates may be sporadic, but I hope you enjoy the story, and stick with me as I update it. As always, kudos and comments are appreciated, though, of course, not required.
> 
> If you're curious about how my characters look, feel free to check out my Instagram, also under the name dragonwyrd316. I've been spamming it with pictures of the characters I'll be writing about, along with some others.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Meet me on the battlefield  
> Even on the darkest night  
> I will be your sword and shield, your camouflage  
> And you will be mine  
> Echos of the shots ring out  
> We may be the first to fall  
> Everything can stay the same or we could change it all  
> Meet me on the battlefield  
> ~ Meet Me On The Battlefield - Svrcina


End file.
